Riley

By Gary Kliewer

July 20, 2009

The Denver Post said, “Lab puppies for sale – Estes Park”. The journey up to Estes Park took us to Riley. He was born in a horse trailer. He looked like a little pig when he came home with us; like a watermelon with legs. And from day one he was a real Daddy’s Dog. Now, on the first of August, he’s going to turn eleven years old.

I just happened to be home last November 5th, when Riley came limping down the hall. His left wrist was swollen and his ears were down. He had a pained look on his face and he wasn’t wagging his tail. His leg was swollen and didn’t look right. I thought maybe he’d been bitten by a snake or had otherwise injured himself. It was kind of late in the season for snakes, but I’d seen one dead along the road a couple of weeks before. Regardless, an hour later we were at the local vet’s. They took a radiograph, and in just a few minutes it was obvious that something was very wrong. We were hoping it was just osteomyelitis (bone inflammation) or arthritis, but the x-ray film told us it was cancer. I’ve seen enough radiographs to know what I was looking at. And that’s where this whole journey started.

The next morning I had an appointment, and we were at the CSU Animal Cancer Center. The day after that, he had an external fixator on his leg for his Stereotactic Radiosurgery. We could have done a biopsy at the Animal Cancer Center, but we knew what it would tell us. The radiographs from the local vet were diagnostic for osteosarcoma. And a biopsy itself is painful, so I said let’s skip that part. They presented every possible treatment for Riley’s cancer, all the way from do nothing and keep him comfortable, to amputation. While most dogs do well with an amputation, I didn’t think it was the best choice for Riley because of his past history.

When he was a year and a half, Riley got out of the yard and chased a car. And he caught it. That’s how he got the full length spiral fracture of his other front leg. It was my fault. I kept putting off building a fence. As it turned out, the fence would have been a lot cheaper than repairing his broken leg! Anyway, I wanted to find a way that we could treat his cancer and he could keep all four legs. Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) is a newer technology offered only at the CSU Animal Cancer Center thanks to their new Varian Trilogy radiation therapy maching. The doctors seemed really positive about its potential to help him. Riley would be only the twelfth dog to undergo this form of therapy, and he would get to keep his leg. Without further thought, I decided to do SRS.

Dr. Ehrhart understood just what I was feeling. She is very compassionate. Not only was Riley her patient, but I was her basket case. I was in tears every day, and she was right there for me. The entire team was just amazing. They never rushed Riley away for his next treatment or exam. They would just sit and spend time with us. I get all choked up just remembering those days. I know how busy the doctors and nurses sometimes were, but they’d just sit with me. They were all so supportive.

Riley seemed to understand everything that was being done for him. The bond just got better and stronger between Riley and me, and I thought it was good before. I think animals are innocent in life. Whatever they do, they do because that’s who they are. Like the other day, Riley almost caught a little rabbit. I would not have liked it if he had chomped that little rabbit, but he was going after it because he is a dog.

Our pets are totally dependent on us. Riley looks at me with absolute trust. I don’t think I could I ever betray that trust. Riley wouldn’t give up on me. I couldn’t give up on him. The reward is that, at least to this point, we have conquered his cancer foe and I get to spend more quality time with my best friend.

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